Search For Cause Of Fire Station Blaze On Hold

BERLIN — The search for what caused the Dec. 21 fire that destroyed the landmark former train station here is on hold because the property owner has decided to halt demolition of the remaining, fire-damaged brick walls.

Amtrak's decision Tuesday not to tear down the gutted ruins this week means investigators will not be able to safely go inside the wreckage to sift through debris for evidence of a cause, Steve Waznia, Berlin fire marshal, said Tuesday.

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"I'm not sure why Amtrak halted demolition or how long it might be," Waznia said. "Until the walls come down, investigators can't go into the building because the walls are unsafe."

The station, built in 1900 and closed in March 2016, was undergoing renovation. The former station was going to be a historic landmark just south of the new train station under construction, part of an upgrade of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield passenger line.

The pre-dawn fire last month started in the north side of the former station's first floor. Waznia said investigators from the town and state and insurance companies want to sift for evidence through layers of materials inside the ruins

"We've checked area surveillance film and re-interviewed witnesses but we need to get inside to look for evidence of what caused it," he said.

An Amtrak spokesman did not respond Tuesday to a phone call seeking comment.

Passenger trains are still able to use the stop. Passengers get on and off the trains from a temporary concrete platform.

The fire caused minimal damage to the new station, state transportation officials have said.

The former station was an architectural icon in town, a place where, for 116 years, generations of residents went to travel north or south, near and far. Since the fire, residents have been stopping by to stare at the ruins and take pictures of what little is left.

Last week, the Berlin Historical Society started an online petition asking that the old station be rebuilt, recycling whatever can be saved from the ruins into the new structure. So far, 124 people have signed the petition, which is posted on the GoPetition website.

In the petition, society members said the station "is a symbol of our town's progress and industry during the 19th and 20th centuries, and has been the site of countless goodbyes and homecomings during times of war and peace."

The station has been rebuilt in the past after fires and it should be rebuilt again, the society said, to "commemorate rail travel in Central Connecticut and what it has done and will do for our community."